And by right away, I do mean right away. I didn’t give these 4.75 X 52 dark and mysterious box pressed robusto Viaje cigars a chance to settle after shipping to the store before lighting up. I think that the lack of rest (and early rainy season we’ve been enjoying recently) may have contributed to less than ideal smoking circumstances, so keep that in mind as you read this review.

Taking these sticks out of the box the closed foot was the first thing to stand out to me. The single black band (just like the box) is difficult to make out, adding to this stick’s mystery. A guillotine cut on the single cap opened up some notes of slightly we earth and faint barnyard on the dry draw. The darker wrapper has attractive thin veins, and a slight sheen to this wrapper.

First Third: The overwhelming initial notes upon lighting this stick up are young hay, and some sweeter undertones, perhaps a passing honey aromatic. The draw is very easy, and construction seems excellent. The first few puffs, if burned too hot, will expose an unflattering unaged tobacco flavor. I learned this the hard way so my advice is to take your time with this stick. To accommodate for this slower smoking style, I took more time in between puffs allowing for the hay/yellowed grass notes to contribute to the otherwise natural tobacco flavors that dominate this stick at the beginning. I am also noting black pepper and a woody note taste on the lips.

Retrohale: I retrohale the Viaje Skull and Bones Mystery 2018 and can immediately confirm that, yes this is a Viaje! Pepper leads with natural tobacco and very minor grass notes following. I am pulled back to the memory of other Viaje’s that I have aged for a year or more before enjoying as the flavor profile seem very close and make a mental note that I will want to let a box of these sit as a present for my future self.

Second Third: It required a bit of touch up and the ash was a bit flaky but I put that down to my enthusiasm to smoke these right out of the mailman’s hands. Since the tasting notes for these Mystery sticks are not made available by Viaje, I was prepared for whatever flavor profile roller coaster might come my way. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised when the consistent natural tobacco notes. This stick smokes more like a companion to whatever task you may be doing (like writing blog posts, perhaps) rather than a distraction.

Final Third: The last third of this Viaje Skull and Bones Mystery 2018 was really rewarding as the aromatic honey and grass notes dropped away entirely in favor of black pepper, leather, smoked meats/wood notes. These flavors married themselves brilliantly to that natural tobacco note that had been smartly carrying the stick through to this point. The complex flavors began almost exactly at the final third mark, indicating that this mix at this point was very much intentional.

Official Recommendation: Pick up a box of the Viaje Skull and Bones Mystery 2018, store them in your humidor and forget about them for at least 1 year. But you are going to have to move fast – as of writing this, we’ve already sold some of these boxes with zero promotion. Viaje is one of those boutique brands that attract a smart and savvy fan base because of the quality of sticks produced.